I had no problems at all installing on Ubuntu. At the school we installed onto several old Macbooks, and had no problems there either.

Well, duh. It is open source, so of course the documentation will be crap.

You don't have to use Python. It is just an option if you want to write macros or script repetitive tasks. All serious CAD programs have some sort of scripting, and using Python is much better than using some quirky, buggy, customized hack like AutoLISP.

Internet service is NOT a natural monopoly. ISP monopolies are a result of bad public policies. Water and electric service are natural monopolies, because pipelines and electric cables are expensive, and an incumbent with existing infrastructure has a huge advantage. But fiber is dirt cheap. The only cost is the initial installation of the conduit, then dozens or even hundreds of fibers can go in that conduit at little additional cost. So the conduit should be owned by the public, and any bonded company should be allowed to run fiber through it.

Really? What is wrong with FreeCAD? It is a full parametric 3D modeling system. It can be scripted in Python. It exports industry standard STL. I find it far easier to use than AutoCAD, SolidWorks, or any other CAD program I have used. I have used it for dozens of projects, and have run into no limitations. I have also used it with a 3D printing class at an elementary school for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. They also had no problems with it. The license is GPL.

What crime? Which third party?

If they have a valid warrant to do it, then it is not breaking the law. It is illegal for you to break into my house. If the police have a valid warrant, it is legal for them to break into my house. The whole point of a warrant is to allow the police to legally do things that would otherwise be illegal.

1. How much does the system cost for one installation?
2. What is the incremental cost of using it for one additional patient?
3. How much training is required to use the system, and to interpret the results?

It is not clear that this treatment option is "better". So far there is no evidence that 3D heart models result in better health outcomes. Even if they do, it is not clear that this is the best way to spend healthcare dollars. Doctors love shiny new technology, patients like to feel they are getting the "best" care, and neither has much incentive to care about the cost.

Except that the books are not, in any meaningful sense, an alternative to these iPads. These iPads have nothing to do with whether the schools can afford books or not. If the schools turn down the iPads, the chance that Apple will donate chemistry books instead is precisely zero. There is no magic pixie dust that can turn an iPad into a chemistry book. If you want to just ignore reality, then the books are still not the best solution. A better solution would be brain implants that can be preloaded with all the knowledge that these kids need. Another good solution would be for all the countries to declare world peace, and redirect all the military spending into schools. These are all just as likely as Apple donating chemistry books out of the goodness of their hearts.

So? Forming a C corp is even easier. Converting a C corp to an S corp requires an extra form, that takes an additional five minutes of your time to fill out and file. The big corporations lobbied for these tax breaks, but there is nothing to stop little people from taking advantage of them as well.

What "common interests" are shared by the world's programmers? Even with the exploitation, these Indian workers are likely better off than they would be back in India. So Indian programmers likely would want America to keep the H1B program. In my opinion, the proper "fix" is to eliminate H1Bs and give foreign tech workers visas that are not tied to any employer, so that they can come to America and compete for wages in a free job market. I doubt if many American programmers would support that.

Except that anyone can form a company for a cost of $0. You can even form a personal corporation for about $300 and about an hour of your time. So all those "special deals" certainly are available to you. It just takes a non-zero amount of effort to take advantage of them.

No. The tax laws don't work that way. They can only get a write off for their actual costs. So for a donation that actually cost them $350, they would get a $350 deduction, which would save them about $100 on their taxes.

1. The terms of the donation almost certainly prohibit that.
2. When someone makes a donation worth millions to your cause, spitting in their face is generally not the best way to encourage future donations.

So the best solution is to have neither? Look, Apple is offering to donate iPads. They are NOT offering to donate chemistry textbooks. I don't see you offering to donate them either. So pretending that by turning down the iPads, we are going to magically get chemistry textbooks is just silly. The choice is not "iPads vs Chemistry Textbooks", it is "iPads vs Nothing". To say that "nothing" is better, because the iPads will just get stolen anyway, is just a cynical rationalization by people that want to feel smug and superior, criticizing these donors, while doing absolutely nothing themselves.

America already spends more per student than either Germany or Finland. Only Norway and Switzerland spend more. But both of those countries have overvalued currencies, and would spend less than America if calculated at PPP.